It's Only Forever
by JessiokaFroka
Summary: Labyrinth AU starring the Tasertricks pairing of Darcy and Loki. In progress, but this will probably be done fast. This will probably be M-rated at some point. For weaverofhopes - ask and ye shall receive.
1. Part 1

For weaverofhopes, who asked.

This is un-beta'd as of yet, but this is something that has been rolling around in my mind for about a year. I've seen _Labyrinth_ no less than seventy billion times and I've always wanted to write an AU with this pairing in the _Labyrinth_ setting. I just needed a little push.

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It's Only Forever

A Tasertricks _Labyrinth_ AU Fic

By JessiokaFroka

"Give me the child."

Darcy's pale cotton dress shifted around her in the cool breeze while loose tendrils of dark hair brushed against the soft skin of her neck. Behind her a stream flowed under a bridge and there was soft grass beneath her feet. She drew her dress closer to her body to stave off the chill, her eyes never losing their focus.

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond this Asgardian City, to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great."

Darcy stopped, her face wrinkling with a small frown. She peered up at the dark clouds and thought while thunder cracked from a short distance away.

"Damn. I can never remember that part," she said to herself. She pulled a small leather-bound book from her jeans pocket, her long sleeves falling to her elbows. She flipped through the well-worn pages, the book opening easily to a passage that had been read so many times that it seemed as though the book knew what Darcy was looking for. She immediately found what she was looking for and rolled her eyes at herself.

"You have no power over me."

The clock in the training room began to chime and Darcy's eyes darted to it immediately, widening in surprise.

"I don't believe it, it's already seven o'clock! Program off!" she called out to the training room and immediately the grass, trees, stream, and bridge disappeared. She was left staring at the same old grey training room that she was used to in SHIELD's basement.

Darcy hiked up the skirt on her long dress, letting her jeans show while she ran as fast as she could through a narrow hallway. She made her way into the ladies' locker room and switched her long medieval-esque dress for a flowy white top with billowing long sleeves and a patterned vest. Vintage - although SHIELD didn't necessarily approve, she wasn't an agent so they couldn't flat-out tell her she couldn't wear whatever she wanted within reason. She took advantage of that little bit of leeway at every opportunity.

After she was done changing and fixing her hair, the clock showed 7:15 AM. She didn't think she would lose track of time so easily- early Sunday mornings was a great time to use the training rooms for non-agents and Darcy had become a little obsessed playing around in what she had come to refer as the 'Holodeck' much to Phil Coulson's chagrin. Phil - he would _not_ be pleased that she was late. But she needed breakfast and she would be damned if she would try to face deciphering Jane's chicken scratch handwriting without some protein in her stomach.

The SHIELD cafeteria took forever getting her eggs and hash browns to her, but she finally got them, grabbed a coffee, and headed down to the lab. Her hope that she would be able to slip into the lab and take a seat at her laptop without Phil noticing was in vain; as soon as she approached the glass walled lab the unreadable Phil Coulson noticed her approach immediately and crossed his arms across his chest.

Before he could say anything Darcy blurted out, "It's not fair!"

"Oh, really?" Phil answered, "Well don't stand there in the hallway, come inside and put down your things."

Darcy trudged past Phil and put her breakfast and purse down unceremoniously down on her desk. She flipped on her computer and waited for the inevitable lecture.

"Darcy, you're an hour late," Phil started.

"I said I'm sorry," Darcy shot back.

"We ask you to come in on a Sunday very rarely-"

"You ask me to come in every single weekend!" Darcy interrupted.

Phil put a hand on his hip and took a breath, his face never losing its unreadable expression. "Director Fury only asks you to come in on a voluntary basis. You can say no to us, especially if you have plans. Quite frankly," Phil said, his voice lowering while he glanced quickly up at the lab's security camera, "I assume you would speak up if you had plans. I'd like you to have plans- you should definitely have plans at your age. But," he said, raising his voice to his normal volume once more, "if you're going to agree to come in on the weekend, then you need to be here on time. I had to wait for you to show you what we need you to do today."

"Ugh, I feel like I can't do anything right," Darcy muttered to herself, but followed Phil to the back of the room toward an ancient, massive computer. It was hooked up to a small laptop that was sitting on a desk next to it.

"As you know we're in the middle of bringing certain parts of SHIELD out of the dark ages. Unfortunately a project has come up that requires the information we have on this computer, but we need it in a form that's a little more up-to-date. We're going to start the information transfer and all we need you to do is watch it and make sure you press this button whenever the screen prompts you to do so," Phil explained, gesturing toward a blue button on the laptop.

"That's it?" Dark asked.

"That's it. It may not even prompt you at all. We just need a live body watching over the transference of this information, because if the prompt isn't verified on time then the whole thing will shut down. The trouble with that is that once _any_ information is transferred off of this computer, we can't get it back. So it's pretty simple - sit here and press the blue button on time and everything will go fine."

"Got it," said Darcy. Phil turned to leave the room for a moment and hesitated. He step paused, but whatever he had thought about saying remained unsaid and he left the room.

Darcy examined the laptop. The time required to transfer all of this information was just over thirteen hours-

"Thirteen hours?!" Darcy called out to no one in particular. "It's a good thing I really _didn't_ have any plans, huh? I'm going to be here all day!" She sighed in disgust. "I hate this place, I hate it!"

She sat at her own desk and started eating her breakfast while clicking through her normal websites. She found a particularly funny gif on Tumblr and went to reblog it, only to find that the buggy website wouldn't interact correctly with the company computer. She pulled out her iPhone to do the same thing and the password for the WiFi in the building had been changed - no Internet was available.

"Oh my god, someone save me! Someone take me away from this awful place!" she cried out. No Internet? Wasn't that a basic requirement for life or something now? "And I can't leave now because of you-" she said, shooting venom with her eyes over at the laptop and massive clunky old computer that were quietly humming away while they transferred information from one to the other. She thought about what she could do to pass the time - she didn't have a phone to call security for the WiFi password and she wasn't writing anything at the moment.

Darcy suddenly realized that she had her little leather-bound copy of _Labyrinth of Asgard_ with her - she could read it for the zillionth time - _or_, she thought, she could act it out. Right here in the lab - it's not like anyone comes down here on Sundays anyway, and Phil wouldn't be back until the end of her shift. Who would know? She reasoned with herself for a moment before opening her little book to the beginning.

Suddenly the laptop started making an odd blipping noise and Darcy glanced over at it to find that a prompt had popped up on its screen. She sighed and put down the book. The screen showed that she had two minutes to press the button, so she grinned at her own cheesiness and decided to use it in her little reenactment.

"Let me tell you a story," she shot at the unassuming laptop. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose workplace always made her come in on the weekends to tend to one menial task or another. One weekend, she was stuck watching over a needy, temperamental laptop and the girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew is that the Asgardian King had fallen in love with the girl, and he had granted her certain powers. So one day, when the girl had been particularly hurried and beaten down by this life, she asked the Asgardians for help."

Somewhere in the crawlspace underneath the laboratory, twelve Asgardian warriors awakened.

"'Say your right words' the Asgardians said, 'and we'll take the computers to the Asgardian City, and you will be free. Ah! But the girl knew that the king of the Asgardians would keep the computers in his castle forever and ever and ever and ever and eventually turn it into a piece of art to sit somewhere in his city, so she suffered in silence. Until one Sunday morning when she was tired of being asked to come into work on her day off and berated for being late and she could no longer stand it."

The computer blipped louder at her this time, urging her to hurry up and press the stupid button already.

"Oh, all right, knock it off!" she said, and strode over the the desk, pressing the blue button and calming the computer once more. But a new prompt came up and beeped and blipped at her again. "Stop it, just stop it!" she said, once more hitting the treacherous blue button. She laughed at herself a little bit over what she was about to say.

"I'll say the words! No, I mustn't, I mustn't say!" Darcy said.

One Asgardian warrior turned to another, his eyes wide while he cocked his ear to listen for the girl's words.

"I wish… I wish!" she started.

"She's going to say it!" hissed a warrior.

"Say what?" said another loudly, and he was promptly shushed by his peers.

"Shut up!" the first warrior said.

"_You _shut up!"

"_Listen!_" said the first warrior again, "She's going to say the words!"

The computer continued its maddening noise.

"I can bear it no longer!" said Darcy, and she glanced around the lab to make sure no one was here to see the epic amount of lameness that was about to go down. Of course there was the security camera, but who cared about that? "Asgardian King, Asgardian King! Wherever you may be, take this job of mine far away from me!"

Nothing happened.

"That's not it!" said one of the twelve warriors in the crawlspace underneath the lab.

"Where'd she learn that rubbish? It didn't even start with 'I wish'!"

Darcy hit the blue button on the computer, finally sick of her game. "Oh come on, stop it!" The computer wouldn't. Stop. Making. That. Noise. "I wish I _did_ know what to say to make the Asgardians take you away," she muttered aloud while she messed with the laptop in an effort to find the volume settings.

"I wish the Asgardians would come take you away right now, that's not so hard, is it?" one of the warriors said quietly, frustration striated through his voice.

"I wish…" Darcy started, her eyes glazing with a thought that she couldn't quite form "I wish…"

"Did she say it?" the loud Asgardian asked.

"SHUT UP!" his cohorts whisper-screamed at him in unison.

"I wish the Asgardians would come take you away," she said, pressing the blue button once more. The noise continued. "Right now."

Darcy turned back to her own computer desk to get her coffee, and the noise of the offending laptop stopped on its own. At the same time the lights in the lab shut off all at once and she froze in her tracks. She felt a wind begin to blow and she panicked- there were no windows in this lab. The dim emergency lighting kicked on and she turned slowly toward the laptop, to find that it- and the massive computer it had been hooked up to- were now gone. She thought she saw someone duck behind a filing cabinet.

"Oh my god…" she said, and she heard snickering from behind her. When she whirled around to look at what was making the noise, whatever it was it had disappeared already. She squinted to try to see in the low lighting.

The odd wind that seemed to be contained only within the lab picked up in the dim emergency floor lighting Darcy saw a that a huge raven had managed to make its way inside. It was beating its wings around the room and it seemed to be coming right at her, causing her to let out a little shriek and over her face with her arms. She could hear wind and a dozen voices laughing and the heavy black feathers flapping, when suddenly-

Silence.

Darcy slowly opened her eyes and uncovered her face-

And gasped.

Before her stood a tall man with black hair, sharp features, and a curious, knowing look in his green eyes. He was dressed in black from head to toe with a billowing black cloak that hung dramatically over his shoulders, making him appear even taller than he already was. Darcy took an involuntary step backwards and he smirked, a line forming in his pale cheek. When he said nothing, she finally spoke.

"You're him, aren't you?" she asked, and he gave the most minuscule of shrugs, his smirk never wavering. "You're the King of Asgard."

The man still said nothing.

Darcy glanced over at where the laptop and the ancient computer had been. "I want those computers back, if it's all the same."

"What's said is said," said the king, his voice dripping in promise and enjoyment, enjoyment at her obvious state of mild panic. He arched a brow and studied her.

"I didn't mean it," Darcy pleaded.

"Oh, you didn't?"

"They are going to _kill_ me if I can't get those back. Please, where are they?"

"You know very well where they are," said the king.

Darcy's stomach dropped. She knew.

"Please, I need those back. Please."

"Darcy," he said, her name rolling off of his lips like a prayer, "Go back to the training room. Play with your books and your fantasies. Forget about the computers."

"I can't."

The king waved his hand once, a crystal ball appearing on it seemingly from nowhere. "I've brought you a gift," he said, and waved his hands, effortlessly moving the crystal ball in fluid movement from one practiced hand to the next.

Darcy was mesmerized with its movement and had trouble tearing her eyes away from it.

"What is it?" she asked.

His eyes bore into her own. "It's a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams. But this isn't a gift for an ordinary girl who looks after the tedious tasks of the company for which she works. Do you want it?" he asked, "then forget about the laptop."

"I can't," Darcy replied. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're doing for me, but I need those computers back. If the information transfer messes up-"

"Darcy," said the king, and the crystal in his hand transformed before her eyes into a green-and-gold snake. He looked at it lovingly and then glanced up at her. "Don't defy me."

Without warning he tossed the snake at her and it coiled around her neck. Darcy screamed and wrenched it off of her neck to find that it was only a silken scarf. She heard the disembodied laughter behind her again and she whirled around, but like before, there was no one there. She turned back to face the Asgardian King.

"You're no match for me," the king said simply, so confident was he in his own power.

"I need those computers back. Now."

The king nodded once and stepped to one side, revealing a window in place of the blank wall that had been there before. "They're there, in my castle."

She took a few tentative steps past him and went to the window's opening. There, through the trees and shrubbery, she could see a shining golden castle in the distance. It was surrounded by a city and _that_ was surrounded by a massive maze made up of walls and forest. She didn't hear the king approach behind her, so close was his body to hers that they almost touched. His smooth voice next to her ear startled her.

"Do you still want to look for them?"

She turned to face him and found that she was no longer in the lab - no, hey were both in the middle of a clearing, green grass beneath their feet and a stream nearby trickled. Darcy stared out at the castle and tried to wrap her mind around the distance from herself to it.

"Is that the castle beyond the Asgardian city?"

"Turn back, Darcy," the king warned, "Turn back, before it's too late." She turned to face him. His cloak billowed in the wind and tugged at his hair, making him look even more powerful than he already appeared. A tall clock was behind him that had not twelve hours, but thirteen.

Darcy thought for a moment. "I can't. Don't you understand that I can't?"

"What a pity," said the king, almost as if to himself.

Darcy raised her chin to him and tried to build her own confidence. "It doesn't look that far," she said.

"It's further than you think. Time is short," he said and gestured toward the clock with a black leather gloved hand. "You have 13 hours in which to solve my labyrinth before your equipment becomes part of my castle… forever," he said, and Darcy glanced back nervously at the castle.

It was so far way.

When she turned back to the king, he was gone.

"_Such a pity_," she heard his disembodied voice say again.

Darcy glanced at the clock again. Thirteen hours. She could do this. She had to.

"The Labyrinth of Asgard," she said, looking out upon the massive maze one more, "It doesn't look that hard. Well, come on feet."

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Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.

I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	2. Part 2

For weaverofhopes, who asked.

Un-beta'd as of yet. Thanks for the response on this story, guys. Your reviews and kudos mean a lot to me.

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Darcy walked down the knoll, past the stone obelisks and statues of Asgardians, toward the high outer wall of the Labyrinth of Asgard. Green, twisting vines grew up its sides and found their way into the stony cracks between the slabs of heavy stone. There was beauty in their unkempt wildness, but there was evidence of neglect as she drew closer. Some of the bushes as the base of the wall were dead and brittle, but her eyes were on the walls themselves - bits of the slabs were crumbling at the edges, but nowhere held the hint of a door or opening.

Darcy walked along the edge of the outer wall for a few minutes and grew frustrated with the lack of an entrance to the maze. She continued searching and broke into a jog, fearful that she was already losing time, when she came upon a man standing alone near the wall. He seemed to be drinking a strong-smelling liquid from a flask and he didn't notice her.

"E-Excuse me?" she asked, and the sound of her voice startled the man. He quickly twisted the metal cap back onto the flask and tucked it into his vest pocket.

"Excuse _me,_" the man replied, and he turned to look at her. His face fell. "Oh, it's _you_." The dark-haired man turned away from her and picked up a brown glove with a glowing blue circle on the palm. He slipped the glove onto his hand.

"Excuse me but, I have to get to the center of this labyrinth; can you help me?" Darcy asked. She studied the man while he stayed silent at her question, but whether she was actually being ignored or he was just distracted Darcy couldn't tell. A floating white orb caught Darcy's eye and she squinted to tell what it was - she pushed up her glasses and saw that the little white floating objects were little white floating fairies. She glanced around and was surprised that she didn't notice them earlier, they were everywhere.

"Oh, how sweet," Darcy said as she watched the strange man raised his hand up to a particularly large one.

"Fifty-" a burst of energy came from the man's glove, "seven," he said, and the fairy fell with a dull thud to the ground.

Darcy gasped. "How could you?" she asked and she rushed toward the fallen creature, picking it up and cradling it in her palms. "Poor thing! You monster!" she said at the man, and cried out in pain when she felt a sharp bite in her hand, causing her to drop the fairy back to the ground. "Ow! It bit me!"

The man rolled his eyes. "What did you expect fairies to do?"

Darcy looked confused, studying this odd man, a puzzle to be solved indeed. "I thought they did nice things. Like- like granting wishes!"

The man scoffed. "Shows what you know, cupcake," he answered and took a few steps toward another one, blasting that one the same as the first. "Fifty-eight!"

"Terrible!" said Darcy.

"Huh? No I'm not, I'm Tony," he said, pointing to his chest, which she now noticed showed a blue glow that came directly from the center. "Who are you?"

"Darcy."

"That's what I thought," said Tony as he blasted yet another fairy with his gloved hand, "Fifty-nine."

Darcy stared after the strange man known as Tony. She didn't know if she should trust him or run from him, but he was the only person around who might be able to help her and the computers were on the line. She had to keep trying.

"Do you know where the door to the labyrinth is?" she asked, and he continued to search for fairies to blast into oblivion.

"Maybe," he answered nonchalantly.

"Well, where is it?" she asked, an edge of clear frustration to her voice while she followed him. He continued to wander along the side of the wall and blast fairies.

"Ooh, sixty!" he said and gave a little laugh.

"You get that that's like the first sign of a serial killer, right?" Darcy asked, but Tony ignored her. She gave a frustrated sigh. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"The door!"

"What door?"

Darcy threw her hands up into the air. "It's hopeless asking you anything!"

"Not-" Tony said and paused, "if you ask the right questions."

Darcy sighed once more. "_How do I get into the Labyrinth_?"

Tony grinned and stopped his quest for innocent fairies to slaughter. "Now that's more like it," he said, and gave no further explanation. He simply strode past her and pointed at a set of heavy wooden doors that weren't on that wall moments before. "You get in _there_."

The doors opened on their own, showing yet another high wall awaiting her on the other side. Darcy turned and watched the doors with mild apprehension - there was really no turning back now.

"You're really going in there?" Tony asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and concern. His wary eyes peered into the doors as well.

"I am," said Darcy, "I'm afraid I have to. The king of this place jacked my computers and who knows what information is on them. It might be important, world-changing even. Plus I'll probably get thrown in jail forever if I lose SHIELD's stuff, so I really, _really_ need them back."

Darcy took tentative steps through the heavy double doors into a never-ending alley, the high stone walls on both sides giving off a claustrophobic feeling. She peered down each side of the long alley, both of which seemed to have no end to them that could be seen. Bunches of weeds and thirsty flowers grew all over these walls, with patches of bright green moss covering some of the pillars that dotted the sides. Patchy, dying grass was beneath her feet.

"Cozy, ain't it?" Tony asked, startling Darcy who had been focused on which way she was going to go. He laughed at her and held out his hands toward either direction. "Now, would you go left, or would you go right?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. Which way would you go?"

"Me? I wouldn't go either way," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"If that's all the help you're going to be then you can just leave," said Darcy, who began inspecting some of the odd flowers that clung to the walls.

"You know your problem? You take too much for granted. Take this labyrinth for instance- even if you get the castle in the middle, you'll never get back out again," Tony told her with his hands on his hips.

Darcy shrugged. "That's your opinion."

"Well it's a lot better than yours," Tony shot back.

"Thanks for nothing, Brony."

"It's _Tony!_ And don't say I didn't warn you," said Tony, and he strode back out of the heavy wooden double doors, muttering to himself.

Darcy chose a direction and started walking, as each looked just as viable as the other. Her eyes searched for arches, cracks in pillars, anything that could indicate a doorway closer to the center of the labyrinth, but none presented themselves. The toe of her dark brown boot kept catching on knots and roots sticking up out of the dying grass and she grew even more frustrated.

"What do they mean calling it a 'labyrinth'? There aren't any turns or corners or anything, it just goes on and on!" she sighed in frustration, but kept walking, until a thought dawned on her. What had she learned in the short time she had been here?

"But maybe it doesn't," she said to herself, "Maybe I'm just assuming that it does, taking it for granted."

Darcy broke into a run. She would find something soon- she had to. Prickly branches of the unkempt flora and fauna of this part of the labyrinth kept hitting her as she passed, but they did not slow her as she continued her run. But after a while she grew tired and even more frustrated that there was absolutely no sign of any kind of opening, so she did what any reasonable person would do and started beating the shit out of a nearby wall with her bare fists.

When she was tired of fighting a losing battle and bruising the crap out of her hands, she slid down the wall and sat on the ground in defeat. She rested her head in her hands and tried to think, when she heard a tiny voice.

"'Ello."

Darcy looked around in confusion and didn't see anyone standing near hear. A gold glint caught her eye and she turned her head to look at the wall she was leaning against and found a tiny man, no bigger than a worm, standing on one of the jagged bricks and looking at her.

"Di- did you say, 'hello'?" she asked the little man?

"No, I said 'ello', but that's close enough," she said the man with a good-natured grin. His golden hair was tied back at the base of his neck and he had a tiny suit of golden armor paired with a tiny bright red cape.

"I've never seen such a small person before. Are you a citizen of Asgard?" she asked him.

He smiled at her and hit his chest with his fist once. "Indeed I am, my lady. My kind are called 'brownies' if you please."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Mr. Brownie."

"Oh, I _am_ a brownie, but my name is Thor."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Thor. Um, by any chance do you know the way through this labyrinth?" she asked. She scooted around to face him while they conversed.

"What, this land? Oh no, I'm just a brownie. Thinking of taking the wife to see the outer wall in our twilight years, though."

"Oh," said Darcy, and her face fell.

"Come inside and meet the missus," Thor offered, gesturing to a crack in a crumbling bit of wall, inside of which Darcy would never have been able to fit.

"No, thank you, though. But I have to solve this labyrinth, and there aren't any turns or any openings or anything, it just goes on and on!"

"Oh, it's full of openings!" Thor answered, "But you cannot see them."

"Where are they?" Darcy asked, a renewed sense of hope coursing through her.

Thor gestured his tiny, beefy arm across the alley to the next wall. "There's one right there, it's right in front of you."

Darcy got up and inspected the area that Thor gestured at, but there was absolutely nothing there. It was just the same solid wall that she had passed the entire time. "No, there isn't" she told Thor.

"Come inside and have a flagon of our finest Asgardian," Thor offered.

"That sounds really tempting right now, Thor, but I have to solve this labyrinth and I've got to do it stat. Now you said there's something here, but there isn't an opening!" Darcy said.

"Of course there is," said Thor, "Try walking through it, you'll see what I mean."

Darcy turned back to the tiny man. "What?"

"Go on, then."

Darcy looked at the solid brick wall and back to Thor. She jerked a thumb toward it. "That's just a wall, Thor, there's no way through."

Thor grinned. "Things aren't always what they seem in this place, so you can never take anything for granted."

Darcy glanced back at Thor once more before facing the wall. She took a tentative step toward it, and where her toe should have hit solid brick, it just stepped right through. She took another step, holding out her hands to make sure she wasn't going to smack her face on anything.

"Hey!" Darcy said in delight. She could see that there were two more pathways behind the opening she had just walked through. She started to head to the one on her left.

"My lady! A moment!" she heard Thor call.

"Thank you, that was incredibly helpful," Darcy said, and started walking toward the pathway on the left again.

"But don't go that way!" Thor called.

Darcy reappeared in the opening again. "What was that?"

"I said that you should not go that way. _Never_ go that way."

"Oh. Thanks!" Darcy said brightly and disappeared behind the path to the right instead.

Thor turned to his wife Jane who had just come out of their front door to see what all the commotion was about. "By the nine, if she had kept on going down that way, she would have gone straight that that castle."

"Thank goodness you helped her," replied Jane.

Darcy was surprised to find herself to be glad over the traditional maze that she was now in. Although there were endless turns, twists, and dead-ends, it was better than the monotony of the endless alleyway. She came upon a pillar of concrete hands that pointed in all different directions, obviously meant to confuse, and decided at once that this entire place was bullshit.

Suddenly Darcy could see the shining golden castle - closer than it was before, but still it was so far away- but her vigor was renewed and her resolve was steadfast.

"I'm coming," she said, and kept working through the maze.

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X

x

The throne room of Castle Asgard was absolute chaos. Nobles of Asgard ate, drank, laughed, and fought right then and there in the middle of it. It looked as though someone who didn't care very much merged the dining hall with the throne room, and the king didn't seem to mind it.

The king himself sat on his golden throne, overlooking the madness in the room. He was no longer in his black traveling clothes; today he wore a forest-green shirt with a loose open front that revealed his pale chest. Black calf-high boots, black gloves, and tight grey pants completed his outfit. He was clearly bored and anxious, tapping his staff against the floor rhythmically and glancing at a huge clock every so often.

Three hours down already.

Riotous laughter broke out that derailed the king's train of thought. Now that his attention was shattered focused on a person across the room who had caught his eye. She had her back turned and her long, dark hair flowed to hair waist. He strode over to the person and put a hand on her shoulder. The person turned around and the king was shocked to discover that it was not a woman, but a man who gave him a huge grin.

"Your majesty," the man said.

"You remind me of the babe," said the king.

"What babe?"

"I'm not doing this with you," replied the king, and he left the throne room in a hurry to be in his own quarters. The silence would do him good.

The king closed the heavy wooden doors of his quarters behind him and glanced over at the two computers that had taken up residence on a large wooden bureau near his bed. He looked through them. They were irrelevant.

A means to an end.

He strode over to the large stone window, peering out of it, his face unreadable. He clasped his hands behind his back as he thought - about the girl, about the game, about the prize that was at stake. He slipped a crystal ball into his hand from the no-space that existed between his world and the girl's where he kept his most sacred objects. He turned from one hand to another several times and peered into it.

And just as he had told her it would, it showed him his dreams.

The girl appeared in the crystal. He watched her, as he had for such a long time: watched her run, watched her get frustrated over his labyrinth, watched her search and search and search. It pleased him to see her in his world and he had dreamed about this day for longer than he dared to remember. He hadn't expected to fall in love with anyone, especially a mortal, but since the first time he saw her in his crystal he couldn't put her out of his mind. There was no one like her in his kingdom. Fiery. Fearless. And willing to fight for what she needed.

Exactly what he wanted.

"But the rules," he moaned aloud to himself, when he heard a loud knock at the door. He slipped the crystal back into the no-space.

"Sire? I could not help but to overhear you outside the door," said a guard.

The king gritted his teeth at first, but decided against becoming enraged at the offending guard. He was so close to what he wanted and while it had him on the edge, he also felt excited for the first time in what seemed like eons.

"I said," the king said louder, "The rules."

"The rules, sire?" the guard asked, opening the door of the quarters.

"The rules, my fine friend, keep me from doing whatever I want, unfortunately," the king said. "What kind of magic spell to use? Not that it matters. Nothing will work."

The guard had no idea what the king was talking about but nodded in agreement anyway.

"She must come willingly, in the end," the king said softly to himself. His emerald eyes peered out the window into the distance, into the area of the labyrinth he knew that she was currently making her way through. "But will she?"

"Sire?"

"Enough, you may go," said the king, and he waved the guard off with a lazy hand. The guard hesitated, but did as he was told and exited the room, shutting the heavy door behind him once more.

"But will she?" he asked aloud once more, a hint of worry clouding his eyes.

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Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.

I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	3. Part 3

For weaverofhopes, who asked.

Unbeta'd.

I own nothing, but if I owned Jareth, Loki, or both, I would make them my hot love slaves.

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Darcy wandered around the maze for a good 15 minutes before she decided to start marking where she was walking and what paths she had taken. She picked a bright yellow flower nearby and began rubbing it on the stone-covered ground, pleased to discover that the dye inside the flower showed well against the pale cream color of the stone. She rubbed an arrow pointing in the direction she was about to go so. After picking as many of the yellow flowers as she could (only god knew when she would stumble upon more of them, she figured) she continued working her way through the maze, marking an arrow to show her path every so often.

She marked a bright yellow arrow before turning a corner to find that the corner only held a dead-end. She turned around to head back the way she came when she saw that her bright yellow arrow, the one she _just drew, _was facing the wrong way.

Realization dawned on her.

"_Someone _has been changing my marks!" she said and threw down the flowers. "What a horrible place this is, it's not fair!"

"That's right, it's not fair," said a man's voice from behind her, "And that's only half of it."

Darcy turned to the voice and saw that two guards stood in front of two doors. The dark-haired man wore Asgardian golden armor with a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back; a woman with fiery-red hair wore the same armor and held a white-and-gold handgun.

"This was a dead-end a minute ago," Darcy said in wonderment.

"No," said the woman coolly, "That's the dead-end behind you."

Darcy whirled around the discover that the woman was right- there was nothing but high wall behind her.

"What the hell, it keeps changing! I feel like it's my first day at Hogwarts," Darcy moaned and put her face in her hands. She was already _so done_ with this place. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You could try one of these doors," said the man.

The woman said, "One of them leads to the castle, and one of them leads to-"

The man interrupted, "Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn,"

"Certain death," finished the woman, her eyes narrowing at her cohort.

"Spooky," said the man.

Darcy looked between the two of them. "How can I tell which door leads to where?" she asked.

"We can't just _tell _you," said the man.

"You have to ask us," said the woman.

"But-" interjected the man, "you can only ask one of us."

"It's in the rules," said the woman.

"Always with the rules," said the man. The red-haired guard shot him a dirty look.

"And I should warn you," said the woman, "that one of us always tells the truth, and one of us always lies."

"Of course," said Darcy, "because that only makes sense."

"He always lies," said the woman.

"I do not, I tell the truth!" said the man.

"Sounds like a lie to me," said the woman as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking away in a seemingly innocent fashion.

Darcy studied the curious pair for a moment. One only tells the truth, and one only lies. Awesome. But suddenly Darcy was struck with her answer, and she immediately approached the archer who was guarding the door on the left.

"Okay. Answer yes or no- would she tell me that this door leads to the castle?"

The archer gave her a quizzical look, not entirely sure if this was a serious question.

"Uh…" he said, and thought for a moment. "Um, what do I think? Uh, um… yes?"

Darcy narrowed her eyes and grinned. "Then the _other_ door leads to the castle and _this_ door leads to certain death."

The man thought for a moment. "But she could be telling the truth."

"But then you wouldn't be. So if you said she said yes, I know the answer is no."

"But I could be telling the truth."

"Then she'd be lying, and the answer would still be no," Darcy surmised.

The archer scratched his head. "Is that right?"

The woman with the gun sighed. "I've never understood it."

"No, it's right, I figured it out!" said Darcy, "Shortcut to the castle, hell yeah!"

The woman moved aside and allowed Darcy to proceed through the door she guarded.

"I think I'm getting smarter!" said Darcy with a laugh, "This is a piece of cake!"

Darcy let out a scream when the floor beneath her disappeared and she felt herself falling down, down, down a deep black hole. The only light was the dim lighting from the trap hallway from where she fell. She couldn't keep from screaming, her breaths coming a quick, short bursts from her terror. She flailed her hands outward, reaching out to see if she could gain purchase on anything to keep herself from falling to her own death, and she felt-

Hands?

Hands.

Hundred of hands protruded from the walls of the narrow hole and they grasped at her, and she at them. She grabbed hold of one hand, which slowed her, but she still kept falling and grasping, falling and grasping, until finally she was able to grab a firm hold and keep it.

"Oh god, _help!_" she screamed up at the light.

"What do you mean?" came a voice from behind her, and when she turned her head she found that some of the hands were pantomiming grotesque faces, and to her horror they moved with the sound of the creepy voices, "we are helping!"

"We're helping hands," said another hand-face.

"Helping hands, very funny," said Darcy without a hint of amusement, "but you're actually hurting."

"Would you like us to let go?" a voice asked, and she felt herself falling once more.

"No!" she shrieked.

"Well, come on then," said one.

"Which way?" said another.

"Which way?" repeated Darcy.

"Up or down?"

"Oh," said Darcy. She glanced up at the light and down at the seemingly bottomless pit below her. She hesitated- where would the hallway that she just fell from lead her? Would the door she came through even still be there?

"We haven't got all day," said a hand-face.

"Oh, you haven't got all day?" asked Darcy, "What, do you have work to get to? Grocery shopping? Because it looks like you guys are a bunch of arms hanging out of a wall for some reason."

"Waiting for your answer…" said one.

"Well, it's a big decision," said another.

"Which way do you want to go?" asked still another.

"Yes, which way?"

"Down, please," said Darcy with confidence.

"She chose down!" jeered one.

"Yeah, after I thought about why-"

"She chose down," echoed another.

And all at once they let her go and she plummeted to the bottom of the pit, landing hard on her knees. She squinted as she looked up into the one beam of light as a hand closed the hatch above, leaving an even dimmer cross-shaped patch of light that trickled down to her.

All around her was a smothering, damp blackness.

X

X

X

The king sat atop his throne peering into his smooth spherical crystal, surrounded by the nobles of Asgard who joked and drank around him. All along the king never took his steadfast gaze from the depths of the crystal.

"She's in the oubliette" he said suddenly.

The nobles burst out in riotous laughter at her plight.

"Quiet!" said the king, and the room immediately became silent, "She shouldn't have gotten that far, she should have given up by now."

"She'll never give up," came a voice from the group of nobles.

"The inventor will lead her to the beginning," the king said softly, then he grinned. "She'll give up when she realizes she has to start all over again," he said, laughing.

He looked around at the silent room in disgust. "Well, laugh," he commanded.

The nobles looked at one another for a sliver of a moment and laughed. Relief flooded them when the king finally began to laugh along with them.

The king turned his attention back to the crystal, his face softening at the sight of her. His brows knit together with a worry that no one but he knew.

And he knew it all too well.

X

X

X

The silence of the oubliette stabbed at Darcy's eardrums, and just when she would start to get used to it she heard a drip here, a drip there. She smelled the damp decay of the pit and the terror of the possibility of starving to death alone, in the dark, was starting to set in, when suddenly-

Footsteps.

"Who's there?" she asked, half hopeful and half terrified that it might be the king again.

She heard a laugh from the darkness and the sound of something electric powering up.

"Me."

A soft blue glow appeared in the darkness that grew steadily into a bright white light. Darcy squinted as her eyes got used to it until finally she was able to see.

"Oh, it's you!" Darcy said, recognizing the man from the beginning of her journey into this maze.

The man adjusted the light's brightness and he looked up at her, appraising her dusty, dirty clothes and turning back to adjusting the light on his brown gloves.

"Yes, well, I knew you were gonna fall down a rabbit hole somewhere, so I've come to give you a hand. This place is…"

"Really fucking weird?" offered Darcy.

"That one," Tony agreed, and he took a seat on a nearby rock. He watched her take in her surroundings - the oubliette had low dirt ceilings, cobwebs everywhere, and chains and shackles hanging off of the walls.

"Ah, you're looking around now, aren't you? I suppose you noticed that there are no doors," he said, and pointed up at the light coming from the middle of the ceiling, "Only the hole. This is an oubliette; the labyrinth's full of 'em."

Darcy ducked her head when she stood. "Really, I didn't know that," she said. Her mind was turning and she was starting to feel the mental wear from the stress she had been under, but she kept her focus. The man got in here somehow, so there was clearly a way out.

"Oh, don't sound so smart. _You_ don't even know what an oubliette is."

"Do you?" Darcy shot back.

"Yes," said Tony, and he slipped the flask out from under his vest, unscrewing the cap, "It's a place to put people to forget about them."

Tony took a drink and slipped the flask back in his pocket. His eyes stared off at something only he could see for a moment, and it was only when Darcy cleared her throat that he spoke again.

"What you've got to do is get out of here," said Tony, "And it just so happens that I know a shortcut out of the labyrinth."

Darcy's eyes grew wide. "No, I'm not giving up now! I've come too far. And seriously, SHIELD will find me- even here in this weirdo place- if I lose their equipment. And god knows what information is on those computers, it might be used to save lives. So no, I'm gonna keep going. Besides, I'm doing OK I think."

Tony raised a disbelieving eyebrow and looked around the oubliette. "Of course you are," he said, "but it's going to get a lot worse from here on in."

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you so concerned about me?"

Tony ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Uh, what- well- I just am, that's all! Nice young girl… terrible, black oubliette…" he said, his voice trailing off.

Darcy thought for a moment, appraising the man before her. His gloves and chest glowed, but the rest of him was quite plain - vest, shirt, pants, shoes. Normal stuff.

"You like technology, don't you?" Darcy asked him suddenly, and his face lit up a little bit at the mere mention of the word.

"Why?"

"If you help me solve the labyrinth, I'll give you this," she said, slipping her iPhone out of her pocket. She pressed the only large button on it and it lit up, showing a picture she took of a duck at a park on the background. Tony practically salivated at the sight of it and he held his hand out to reach it. Darcy snatched it back. "You like it, don't you?"

Tony suddenly became very aware of himself and changed his facial expression to one of nonchalance immediately.

"Uh, so-so," he said.

"Oh," said Darcy, but she didn't buy the act for a second, "Okay."

She slipped the phone back into her pocket and folded her hands in front of herself, watching Tony and enjoying seeing him squirm. The corner of his mouth ticked up twice and he took a deep breath, bringing a hand up to his mouth while he debated what to do.

"How about you give me the… the… thing," started Tony.

"Oh, the cell phone?" she asked, pulling it out of her pocket once more.

"Yeah, the sell fone," he said, "And I'll show you the way out of the labyrinth."

Darcy took in a huffy breath. "You were going to do that anyway," she said flatly.

Tony smirked. "Well, that's what would make it a particularly altruistic gesture on your part."

Darcy rolled her eyes and appraised the man in a new light. "Take me as far as you can into the labyrinth and then I'll do it on my own," she bargained.

Tony pursed his lips and peered at the iPhone again.

"What is that, anyway?"

"What, the phone? Um, glass and metal, I think."

"Oooooh," said Tony. The guy had _no_ poker face. "Tell you what honey, I won't promise you anything, but I'll take you as far as I can. Then you're on your own, right?"

Darcy grinned. "Right."

"Right."

Darcy handed Tony the phone and she allowed him the gratuitous minute to play around with it.

"Glass and metal…" she could hear Tony say to himself. When he seemed to be satisfied, he slipped the phone into his vest and marched toward a blank wall on the opposite end of the oubliette. She watched as he pulled a wiry remote control out of his vest (which Darcy was beginning to think was enchanted or blessed or something) and pointed it at the wall. The wall itself began to glow in that blue hue that Darcy was beginning to feel strangely accustomed to when suddenly a metal door appeared. Tony gave a half-grin, clearly pleased with himself, and he pressed a button on the side of the door's metal frame. It slid easily open and on the other side was what looked like a huge metal robot with a single arm.

"Oh, it's you," said Tony, "Sorry, Butterfingers, I don't need you right now."

Tony pressed the button and the door closed. "Can't be right all the time."

"Did you make that?" asked Darcy while he fiddled with a light panel on the side of the door.

"Indeed I did. Stuff like this is why they call me the Inventor."

The inventor seemed satisfied with whatever he was trying to do and he pressed the button again. This time when the metal door slid open it revealed a pathway out of the godforsaken oubliette. Tony stepped through the door and Darcy followed closely behind, relieved to finally be out of the tiny enclosed room.

"This way," said Tony.

The new pathway was entirely underground, and the floor to the ceiling was made of beautiful sparkling white stone with dotted sconces for lighting here and there. Unlike the rest of the labyrinth, there was only one pathway that seemed to usher the pair around straightforward corners and corridors. There were intricate statues and brilliant tapestries all along the walls, all of which featured single people that reminded Darcy of stained glass church saints, and Darcy was startled when one of them spoke in a booming voice.

"Don't go on," said a statue.

Darcy gave it a startled look, but Tony kept walking, so Darcy followed suit.

"Go back while you still can," a tapestry called, its voice a deep baritone.

"This is a not the way," another statue called like a crying warning. The pair kept walking.

"Take heed, and go no further!" said a tapestry from across the room.

Darcy could feel all of their eyes on her and Tony.

An especially large tapestry right next to Darcy whispered, "Beware, beeewaaaaarrrreee…"

"Soon, it will be too late!"

Tony scoffed and glanced back at Darcy. "Ignore them, they're just false alarms. You get a lot of them in the labyrinth, especially when you're on the right track."

"Oh no you're not!" said a statue.

"Oh, just shut up," answered Tony. Darcy bit back a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Sorry, I'm just doing my job," said the statue indignantly.

Tony and Darcy passed by the statue and walked down a corridor with a single large golden tapestry. Just as Darcy suspected it would, the tapestry shouted its warning at them.

"Beware! For the-"

"Forget it," said Tony.

"Aw, please," whined the tapestry, "I haven't said it in such a long time."

Tony rolled his eyes and looked at Darcy for approval, who waved a dismissive hand.

"Oh, all right," said Tony, "But don't expect a big reaction."

"No, no, no, of _course_ not," said the tapestry, and it cleared its throat, "Beware, for the path you take will lead to certain destruction!"

Darcy clapped for the man in the tapestry and he gave her a smile.

"Thank you," said the tapestry man.

Darcy and Tony continued on the path and found that the pathway led into a dark, dingy little tunnel. Spots of light shone from above and Darcy continued to follow the inventor in silence until she heard an odd, tinkling noise behind them. She turned to find one of the little crystals that the king had shown her earlier was rolling its way past them and she froze, as did the inventor. Her brain told her that, according to the laws of physics that she knew, the ball couldn't keep rolling at such a steady pace, at that angle, for as long as she watched it. She realized with a wary fascination that it was headed for the cup of a man sitting against a wall.

"What have we here?" asked the man in a familiar voice.

Tony took a quick step back, which sent a thrill of fear through Darcy.

Shit.

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Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.

I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	4. Part 4

Un-beta'd. Thanks for the response on this story, guys. Your reviews and kudos mean a lot to me.

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"What have we here?" asked the man in a familiar voice.

Tony took a quick step back, which sent a thrill of fear through Darcy.

"Uh, nothing," said Tony, and he took another step back, bumping into Darcy whose back was against the wall.

"Nothing?" asked the man, and he tossed aside the cup, sending it and the crystal clattering to the ground. "Nothing? Nothing?"

The man removed his disguise in a quick swoop and revealed himself to be the king. Darcy couldn't help but to notice that he had changed his clothing and decided right then and there that, thieving king or not, the man before her looked hot and dangerous in everything he wore. He looked like a deep pool of quiet rage bubbled beneath his calm surface.

"Your majesty," said Tony, kneeling, "What a nice surprise!"

Darcy, who knelt for no one, remained standing. Although while in the minor act of what she thought was defiance, she was still grateful that the king's severe face was not looking upon her.

"Hello, Tiny," said the king.

"Tommy," Darcy corrected.

"Tony," said Tony, an edge to his voice as he stood and shot Darcy an irritated look.

The king did not acknowledge the exchange. He narrowed his eyes at Tony. "Tony, are you helping this girl?"

"H- helping?" repeated Tony, whose nervous hand was scratching the back of his head, "In what sense?"

The king crossed his arms and a cold smile played across his lips. "In the sense that you're leading her towards the castle."

Tony glanced back at Darcy. The king still trained his gaze only on Tony.

"I was taking her back to the beginning," said Tony.

"What?" demanded Darcy. It was then that Darcy felt the king's eyes upon her face, but all she could focus on was the sound of the blood rushing in her ears from her rage and Tony shrinking back away from her. Tony turned back to the king.

"I told her I would help her," he said, and the king turned his focus back to Tony one more, "A little trickery on my part-"

The king cocked his head to the side and in one fluid motion reached his hand inside of Tony's vest and pulled out the iPhone. He inspected it for a moment and looked back up at Tony, an incredulous look on his face.

"What is this glass thing?"

"Um," said Tony as he looked at the little phone and back at Darcy, "Um, oh, um, Oh this! Where did this come from?"

"Goonie," the king started.

"Tony," Tony corrected.

"Yes," The king narrowed his eyes once more. "If I thought for one second that you were betraying me, I would be forced to suspend you headfirst in the Fen of Questionable Content."

Tony's eyes grew wide in terror as he sank to his knees. "No! No your majesty, not the Fen!"

"Oh yes," spat the king, and in one graceful movement he turned from Tony to Darcy, closing the distance between them. Darcy took an automatic step backward and hit the cold stone wall once more. She felt his eyes boring into her own as a conflicted thrill of fear and lust ran through her.

"And you, girl," said the king, and he rested his arm against the wall near one side of her head.

But Darcy cut him off before he continued.

"I'm getting pretty tired of you calling me a girl, your majesty. I am a fully grown woman."

The king let her words sink in for a scant moment before he looked her up and down approvingly and leaned in.

"Why so you are," he whispered in her ear. Darcy shivered and her eyes flashed. That was not the reaction she was supposed to feel. This guy was a thieving, mind-fuck psycho. Focus, Darcy, focus.

The king took a step backward, giving her slightly more space to breathe. "How are you enjoying my labyrinth?

It flew out of her mouth before she even really thought about the consequences. "It's a piece of cake."

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh no…"

Now the king's eyes flashed. "Really?" he asked, his voice dangerously low, "Then how about upping the stakes?"

He turned to a clock that appeared behind him and moved time ahead by several hours. Darcy's mouth dropped open.

"That's not fair!"

The king turned back to her, a wicked grin hiding that silver tongue of his.

"You say that so often," he sneered and contorted his face into mock sympathy, which just as suddenly turned back into focused arrogance. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

He stalked past her and pulled one of his small crystal spheres from the no-space, holding it in his hand and rolling it hypnotically from side to side.

"So the Labyrinth's a piece of cake?" he asked, glancing at Darcy, "Let's see you deal with this little slice."

The king turned away from her and threw the glass sphere hard into the darkness. The sphere caught the light and started shifting, changing, until little by little Darcy and Tony realized that a massive, fiery machine was coming at them. The king was gone, a metal gate appeared over the doorway from whence they came, and Tony and Darcy only had one direction to go.

"Run!" shouted Tony. They ran down the cold stone tunnel, taking care not to trip over random bits of debris on the ground, and Darcy only looked back once - after that she had had enough of the sight of whatever the hell was coming toward them.

"What is that thing?" Darcy shouted, and she and Tony continued sprinting as fast as their legs would carry them.

"It's a molten machine that spews fire!" shouted a very angry Tony, who was gasping for breath, "It's called 'The Cleaners'."

"Hurry!"

"The Cleaners, the Fen of Questionable Content - you sure got his attention!" Tony spat back.

"Come on!"

The continued running until they both realized that up ahead was a locked gate. Darcy panicked, watching the fiery machine come closer and closer to them. She pounded her fists against the wall and the wall- surprisingly- wasn't as solid as she thought it was.

"Help me!" Darcy shouted, and Tony started pounding his fists on the wall too.

"No, not that, your glove-blaster-thingy!" Darcy yelled in furious frustration. Tony didn't have time to be embarrassed; he activated both gloves and shot at the wall, bringing the entire thing down and revealing a crawlspace behind it. Both Darcy and Tony jumped into the crawlspace just in time to watch The Cleaners roll by, all fiery magma and hellish heat. Two golden Asgardian warriors pushed it from behind and Darcy had a mind to kick one square in the ass from her rage and adrenaline, but she was too relieved to be out of the line of fire (ha!) to care.

They both took a moment to look around at what fresh hell they'd gotten themselves into when they both realized that they had stumbled upon a way out of the cold stone tunnel.

"Ah, a ladder," Tony said, "Follow me."

Darcy crossed her arms. "How can I trust you now that I know that you were taking me back to the beginning of the labyrinth?"

"I wasn't. I told him that to throw him off the scent," said Tony, and he began climbing the ladder.

"Tony, how can I believe anything you say?"

"Let me put it this way," said Tony, and he continued climbing the ladder, "What choice have you got?"

Darcy let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "You're right." She began to follow him up the ladder.

"See, you've got to understand my position, princess. I'm a coward, and Loki scares me."

"What kind of position is that?" she asked as they reached the middle of the ladder that went up, up, up.

"No position," said Tony, "That's my point. You wouldn't be so brave if you'd ever smelt the Fen of Questionable Content. It's- it's just- ugh."

"Is that all it does?" asked Darcy, "It just smells?"

"Believe me, that's enough," he said as they reached near the top of the ladder, "But the worst thing is, if you so much as dip a toe in the Fen of Questionable Content, you'll smell bad for the rest of your life. It'll never wash off."

They reached the top of the ladder and Tony pushed they heavy cement lid of the hole down to the ground. Darcy saw Tony disappear from sight as he jumped down off of whatever it was that contained the ladder. When Darcy made it to the top of the ladder herself, she realized that the ladder let them out of a large golden pot that was used as decoration for a beautiful garden. She jumped down off the golden piece of art with no help from Tony and landed on well-kept stone that swirled a path through the labyrinth. The shining golden castle could be seen, much closer now, in the distance.

"Here we are, then," said Tony, "You're on your own from now on."

"What?" demanded Darcy.

"That's it, cupcake, I quit," said Tony. He did his best not to meet her eyes.

"Wait a minute," said Darcy, "Tony!"

"I said I'd take you as far as I could."

"You little cheat! You nasty little cheat!"

Tony grinned and looked away, "Now don't go trying to embarrass me; I have no pride."

Darcy was disgusted and looked at him up and down, spying a chink in his armor. While Tony was looking away, Darcy grabbed hold of one of his brown gloves and yanked, tearing it off of him.

"Oh yeah?" she taunted him, dangling the glove in his face and snatching it back, away from him, when he tried to grab for it.

"But that's my glove," said Tony, anxiousness dominating his voice, "Give them back!"

Darcy continued to taunt him, dodging him when he lunged for the glove and slipping it onto her own hand. Tony saw that she was now wearing his glove and his eyes widened, putting his hands into the air.

"Be careful," he warned, "Darcy, give it back. You have no idea-"

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Mr. Inventor. Now, there's the castle. Which way should we try?" she asked, pointing with either hand at the two exits of the little nook where the ladder led them.

"Darcy, that glove is mine. It is dangerous, and you have no idea how to use it properly. You need to give it back; this isn't fair."

Darcy stopped her gleeful taunting for a moment while she had an epiphany. "No, it isn't fair," she said slowly, tasting the words in her mouth and becoming used to them, "But that's the way it is."

Both of their attention was grabbed by the sound of someone walking near them and they both became quiet. Whatever the thing was, it was huge. Both Tony and Darcy slowly turned as to not attract its attention, but calmed when they saw that the huge man with dark skin, golden armor, and enchanting yellow eyes sat on a large stone seat. He let go of the massive golden sword he carried, which stayed perfectly balanced and in place, standing upright on its own, next to him. The man looked at Darcy.

No, not looked. He man saw Darcy. Darcy felt as though every secret she'd ever had was suddenly bared for this man to see, but his kind eyes assuaged her and she felt no fear. Darcy took in a deep breath and approached the man, holding his gaze.

"Excuse me, please, but can you help me?" Darcy asked.

The man continued to hold her gaze unblinkingly.

"Ah, Lady Darcy," the man said in a baritone voice, "I've been expecting you."

Darcy was taken aback and blinked a couple of times before finding her voice again. "And you are…?"

"Heimdall."

"Heimdall, it's nice to meet you. This is my friend, Tony. You were expecting me?"

"Indeed. King Loki has set his sights on you, and therefore I have set my sights on you. I am honored to assist you in any way I can," said Heimdall. Tony glanced back and forth between Heimdall and Darcy, and Darcy was assessing whether this new person was truly friend or foe.

"Apparently his majesty threatens to throw people into a swamp-"

"Fen of Questionable Content," Tony interrupted.

"A swamp if people help me on my little journey. I'll ask for your help only if you want to give it to me."

Heimdall's gaze never wavered. "I have defeated stronger men than Loki. I worry not about him, Lady Darcy, but you… should not be here. You are innocent."

Darcy didn't allow herself the luxury of time to dissect that statement. "I have to get to the castle at the center of the labyrinth. It's really, really important. Do you know the way?"

"Ah," said Heimdall.

"Ah," repeated Tony.

Darcy shot him a warning look and waited patiently for Heimdall's answer.

"Sometimes, the way forward is the way back," Heimdall said simply.

"Eh, listen to this guy, he has no idea what he's talking about," said Tony. He folded his arms and rolled his eyes so hard that Darcy was sure that he must have pulled a muscle.

"Will you please be quiet?" Darcy asked.

"All right."

"Ok?"

"Ok."

"All right," repeated Darcy.

"All right, sorry."

"Are you finished?" she asked.

"Yes."

Heimdall waited in silence before continuing. "Quite often, Lady Darcy, it seems like we are not getting anywhere, when in fact-"

"-we are," said Tony.

"We are," repeated Heimdall.

Darcy sighed and rubbed one eye in frustration. "I'm really not getting anywhere at the moment."

"I'm afraid that is all I am able to dispense to you. There are rules. I wish you luck on your journey," said Heimdall.

"Thanks," Darcy said, and she and Tony turned and left, Darcy slipped Tony's power glove onto her hand for safekeeping.

"That was a load of crap. That guy didn't tell you anything," Tony said.

Darcy said nothing as she carved a path through the labyrinth with Tony trailing behind her. They had walked for almost a solid half-hour when Tony finally spoke up.

"Why did you say that? About my being your friend?" Tony asked.

Darcy didn't slow and called behind her, "Because you are. You're not much of a friend, but you're the only friend I've got in this place."

Tony was silent for a heartbeat. "What about Loki?"

"Loki?" Darcy asked, as she whirled around to face Tony, "You think Loki is my friend? What kind of friend steals your stuff and makes you go through a freakin' Tri-Wizard Tournament task to get it back? Stuff that's not even your stuff?"

Tony cocked a single eyebrow at her. "You say as you walk around with my glove on your hand."

Darcy's face went blank for only a moment before she burst into peals of laughter.

"You win," she giggled, "You win."

She slipped the glove off of her hand and handed it back to him. He placed it back on his own hand and slipped into a satisfied smirk.

"Do you hear something?" Darcy asked.

"No," said Tony.

Darcy squinted her eyes as though that would help her to hear better.

"Friend, huh?" said Tony, almost as if to himself, "I like that. I've never had a friend before."

"Seriously?" asked Darcy absentmindedly. She was still trying to focus on the pitter-patter of little feet she thought she was hearing. She shook her head and tried to focus. "Like, even in school?"

"School?" Tony asked, and the quizzical expression on his face said it all.

"Of course this place doesn't have school. Curiouser and curiouser."

A deafening roar of rage filled the air and both Darcy and Tony jumped.

"Goodbye!" said Tony, and he turned around and started to head straight in the opposite direction of the noise. Darcy ran after him for a few steps and grabbed onto his vest.

"Wait a minute! Are you my friend or not?"

"No, Darcy. I am no one's friend. I look after me, like everyone else. Tony is Tony's friend," he said, and he wrenched himself away from her grasp and continued running.

"Tony!" Darcy called after him, "You coward!"

Another loud roar pierced the air and Darcy winced at the sound of it. But despite everything her body told her to do, she turned toward it and steeled herself before walking forward, toward the horrible noise.

"I'm not afraid," she said to herself, "Things aren't always what they seem in this place."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Loki set the crystal down next to him on the bed.

You think Loki is my friend?

The king scoffed. Of course he wasn't her friend. He didn't want to be just her friend. He let his mind wander and his eyes found their way, as they always did, back to the crystal to find her once more.

This was starting to fall apart. She would not have it, would not have him like this. She was repulsed by him.

Loki ran a hand through his hair and he glanced at the clock in the corner of the room. 5 hours and change until the big finish. He took a deep breath and thought.

He needed to change the game. He needed to get into her good graces. But he couldn't break the rules- it wasn't an option.

He needed to woo her.

"Fandral!" Loki called as he arose from the bed, his day clothing changing to his black riding clothing in an instant. He heard Fandral enter the room.

"My king?"

"Bring me some fruit and ready Sleipnir. I am going out."

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Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.

I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	5. Part 5

For weaverofhopes, who asked.

Unbeta'd.

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Darcy crept toward the enraged roars that pierced the air. She heard voices ahead around a hedge and tiptoed quietly toward them, cocking her ear to hear better.

"We've got you now, monster!"

"Quick, while his hands are occupied!"

Darcy peeked through the hedges and let her eyes adjust to the bright white light. The thing that was making all of the noise was huge, and a vibrant shade of green at that. It was locked inside of a clear glass case from which the sterile light was coming and was surrounded by Asgardian guards who continually poked and prodded at the glass with their golden swords.

It was making the thing- him- angry.

Somehow Darcy knew that she wouldn't like him when he was angry.

The more she watched, the sicker she felt. The big green hulking man wasn't doing anything wrong and still the guards tormented him. She knew that this kind of hate-fueled bullying had to come to an end, and she would be this poor creature's rescuer.

Darcy looked around for something, anything, that she could use, when she spotted some rocks on the ground.

No, these guys were trained guards. Defenders of the castle. Lethal warriors. No way would it work. But, Darcy thought to herself, this place held stranger wonders, and she was certain that gullibility wouldn't be outside of the realm of possibility.

She picked up a rock and quietly edged her way around the other side of the hedge, completely hidden from the guards, and chucked it as far as she could away from the guards. The rock landed with a loud thud against a wall and grabbed the attention of all of the guards. Darcy quickly got back to her original spot and waited for the guards to go investigate the noise before she revealed herself to the big green man.

The man started roaring in anger once again at the sight of her. She jumped in surprise, but took a deep breath and steeled herself before taking a few steps ahead. She had to act quickly.

"Shhhhh," she whispered, putting her hands up the glass, "Shhhh, I'm here to help you."

The beast roared again, but Darcy only put her hands on her hips.

"Is that any way to treat someone who's trying to help you?" she whispered.

The green man's expression changed from anger to a look of confusion and then to comprehension as he assessed her. She wasn't poking at him or making his ears hurt with swords banging on the glass. She looked… friendly.

"What do I do?" she whispered. She kept looking around to keep watch for the guards.

Through his rage he seemed to understand her and pointed to a panel on the side of the glass cage.

"This looks like something Tony would have invented," Darcy said to herself. She puzzled over the panel for a moment and thought about the combination she saw him enter into his wall panel earlier. She punched in the same pattern on the panel and in moments the door slid open easily. The man lumbered out of the cage, the ground shaking as he walked, and at the same moment the guards came back around the hedge.

"By the beard of Odin, the beast is free!" shouted one guard.

Darcy had seen pants-shitting terror on a man's face just twice before in her life. The first time was when her dad walked in on her and Jason Thompson fooling around in the shed and Jason looked as though he was about to both meet his maker and battle Satan at the same time. The second time was when her high school chemistry teacher set a chair on fire that spread to a rug that lead straight to the chemical closet. Neither of those faces compared to the look on this guard's face.

In two massive steps, the large man closed the distance between himself and the guard and seized him by the neck. With seemingly no effort he lifted the man off the ground and threw him, hard, over the hedges. The other guards hesitated for a moment, just long enough for the large green man to roar in their general direction, before they all fled.

Darcy crossed her arms, assessing the man she had just rescued - hopefully she wouldn't regret it. He continued to roar with his anger even thought the guards were gone.

"Hulk smash!" the man roared.

"Hey!" Darcy yelled.

The man stopped his mad raging and looked quizzically at Darcy.

"Is that any way to treat someone who just rescued you?" she asked, one hand on her hip.

A burst of comprehension in those green eyes. In a way, however slight that way might be, she had reached him.

"You said, 'Hulk smash.' Hulk? Is that your name?" said asked. She walked slowly toward him, cautiously, with her palms facing forward at chest height.

"Hulk," Hulk said, his voice much calmer, and he allowed Darcy to approach him.

"You seem like such a nice beast," she said, and she gave him a light pat on the arm. "Well, I certainly hope you are what you seem to be. Do you want to come with me? You can be my friend."

Hulk's brow knit together in confusion. "Hulk… friend?"

"That's right Hulk. Let's be friends. I'm Darcy," she said and she smiled up at him, hoping that this man wasn't going to go all Hulk Smash again.

"Darcy. Hulk. Darcy friend?"

"Yes, Hulk! Yes. We're friends. I helped you and you helped me by taking care of those guards. Now, I want to ask you something."

"Huh?" Hulk asked. He seemed to be unfocused, fixated on something only he could see. Darcy searched his face for a sign of what might be the problem but couldn't find it.

"Do you know the way to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth?" she asked.

Hulk did not answer. He seemed to be feeling light on his feet, and he swayed a moment before sitting, laying, and then passing out.

"Oh my god, Hulk?" Darcy asked, and she gave him a light tap on the shoulder. He shuddered for a moment and then his body began to morph. A very startled Darcy jumped back and watched as the green man shrank and shrank and shrank, becoming less and less green all the while, until he appeared to be no more than a man.

A very naked man.

Hulk was still asleep and Darcy looked around in a confused panic. Naked guy. Naked was-just-green guy.

"Of course," Darcy said to herself as she sighed. She looked around for any scrap of clothing she could find and finally her gaze landed upon a small pile of ripped clothing inside of the glass contraption in which she had found Hulk. She brought the pile of clothing back to him and tossed them strategically onto his body to allow him a small bit of decency when he awoke.

"Hey Hulk," she said to the sleeping man. He didn't awaken.

"Hey Hulk," she repeated, and nudged him with her foot. The man stirred and opened his eyes slowly, confusion overcoming his features.

"Hmm?" asked the man. Bleary-eyed, he looked around at his surroundings. He finally spotted Darcy, who was hard to miss since she was standing right in front of him, and he scrambled to pull the clothing closer to himself.

"Um," the man said.

"So I take it you're not always a huge green 'roid rager?" she asked.

"Um," the man repeated again, "Yeah, not exactly."

"Okay, so I'm going to turn around so you can get dressed, and then we can talk when you're not naked. Sound good?' Darcy asked. He nodded once.

She turned around and hummed a little song to herself while she heard the rustling of the man getting dressed behind her.

"Okay, I'm as clothed as I'm going to get," the man said, and Darcy turned back around. It looked like he had managed to get his shirt off of him before he hulked out because the white button-up was in almost-perfect condition, but his pant legs were in shreds. Darcy thought he looked like a salty pirate ready to go to business meeting, but she did not mention it to the man.

"Oh I get it, you've kind of got a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on. Because of course that makes sense here."

"I have never had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Jekyll; I am Dr. Banner. They call me the scientist, but you can call me by my first name- Bruce. And you've already met… the other guy," he said, and he looked away with something Darcy thought for a second was shame.

"Hulk? Oh yeah, he and I go way back. In fact, he kicked some Asgardian ass for me a few minutes ago. And I let you- I mean, um, him, I guess- out of that little cell thingy over there," she aid, and jerked a thumb toward the glass prison.

Bruce's brows knit together in confusion.

"He… helped you?" he asked.

"Well, I freed him. He seemed pretty pissed about being all locked up."

"You shouldn't have done that," said Bruce, "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be out, but it's a miracle that he didn't kill you."

"I got that impression," Darcy said, "Oh, you know, I was asking Hulk something and he didn't really seem to know - do you know how to get through this labyrinth?"

"I'm afraid I don't. I'm trying to make my way out of it myself," Bruce said.

"Any chance you want some company? I'm kind of on a time constraint and it seems that two heads are better than one in this place."

Bruce thought it over for a second. "I accept."

"Awesome, let's get going then," she said, and for a moment she felt like Dorothy Gale in the land of Oz. She had already met the cowardly lion in the form of Tony, and now here was another traveling companion.

Darcy turned to leave the way she had come, but found that a wall with two doors had appeared in its place.

"Hey, where did they come from?" she asked. She and Bruce examined the doors with their strange door knockers, both afraid to touch them. The door knockers were heads- a red-haired man had the knocker ring stuck in his ears and the blonde-haired man had the knocker ring stuck in his mouth.

"One should not stare," said the red-haired one loudly, and both Darcy and Bruce jumped back from the shock of the knocker talking.

"Oh!" said Darcy, "I'm sorry, I just don't know which door to choose."

The blonde door knocker began making noise, but couldn't say any words with the knocker ring in his mouth.

"Fandral got the ring in his mouth for good reason; he never could seem to keep it shut," said the loud red-haired knocker.

"Hs df asa pst," said Fandral-the-door-knocker.

"I can't understand you," said Darcy, and she approached the blonde knocker. She reached up and pulled the heavy metal ring from his mouth.

"Oh, it feels so good to have that out. Now, what is an enchanting creature such as yourself doing in a place like this?" he asked, and Darcy was taken aback.

"Um, yeah, so, what were you trying to say? Before I pulled this ring out of your mouth?"

"I was saying, it's no good talking to him, Volstagg's deaf as a post," said Fandral.

"Mumble, mumble, mumble," said Volstagg, "You're a wonderful conversational companion."

"Me? If only you could hear yourself talk- but wait, you can't," snapped Fandral.

Bruce and Darcy watched the exchange with an apprehensive caution.

"Where do these doors lead?" asked Bruce.

"Search me, we're just the knockers!" said Fandral, and he laughed as though he had just said something positively hilarious.

"How do we get through?" asked Dary.

"Knock, and the doors will open," said Fandral.

"Huh?" said Volstagg.

Darcy lifted the metal ring back to Fandral's mouth, but the man refused it.

"Come on, I want to knock," said Darcy.

"Huh-uh," said Fandral, and he clamped his lips shut tight.

"Doesn't want his ring back in his mouth, eh? Can't say I blame him," said Volstagg.

Darcy thought, but the sound of Fandral's breathing was distracting. The light of recognition sparked in her eyes- she had an idea. Before Fandral could do anything about he, she grasped his nose tightly, squeezing, ensuring that he could not get any air. She only had to wait for 30 seconds before Fandral opened his mouth to get air and Darcy took advantage of it. She shoved the ring back into his mouth.

"Sorry," she said as she knocked.

"Ips uh-kay imm ust to it," Fandral said, and Darcy was almost (almost) sorry at his crestfallen face.

The door opened itself and Darcy and Bruce walked through, closing the heavy wooden door behind them.

Darcy didn't expect what lay on the other side - a dark forest, thick with moss-covered trees and crumbling pathways. Thick cobwebs covered the leaves of someof the trees and their branches with some strands that connected all the way down to the forest floor. Darcy had already gone in a few steps when she reaized that Bruce wasn't following. She looked back and saw him staring, horrified, at the spider webs.

"Come on, Bruce," said Darcy, who did her best to keep an edge of annoyance out of her voice. He didn't have to go with her, she reminded herself.

Bruce followed and Darcy was off again.

"I can't see the castle- for all I know, we could be going the completely wrong direction," Darcy said, and Bruce agreed.

"We could, but we'll never know if we don't get somewhere to see above these trees. But it looks like the sun is coming in at the same angle as when we were standing in front of those two doors back there, so that's something," said Bruce.

"Good point," said Darcy, and she felt a tiny bit better.

They continued through the winding pathways. Here and there would be a patch of stone that looked to be ruins of some kind, as thought civilization had once held this place but was abandoned, allowing the trees to reclaim their place. Birds and bugs could be heard going about their day, and Darcy started to relax again. They traveled through the thick forest for a good five minutes before they once again came upon patches of spider webs, and Bruce came to a stop.

"Bruce… are you scared of spiders?" Darcy asked.

"I'm not sure what spiders are, Darcy, but the creatures that make this webbing are horrifying. They're like the worm form of a bilgesnipe," said Bruce, but Darcy had no idea what a bilgesnipe was, let alone what the worm-like form of one would be.

"Imagine that big scary hulk guy being afraid of a place like this," Darcy offered, and Bruce smiled.

"Yeah," he said. Darcy turned and continued walking, but she heard the whisper of something like a gasp behind her.

"Did you see one?" she asked as she turned.

Bruce wasn't there anymore.

"Bruce? Bruce?" she called, but there was no answer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tony trudged through the darkened forest, looking for a way out, muttering to himself all the while.

"Get through the labyrinth? Friends? Right," said Tony.

He could hear Darcy calling out a name somewhere behind him- it seems that she had meet The Scientist. He scoffed again, until he heard her call out for him.

"Tony? Tony, help!"

The Inventor gasped and shouted, "I'm coming, Darcy!" He turned heel toward where her voice had come from and took only a single step before he stopped in his tracks.

There, leaning against a tree, was the king.

"Well, if it isn't you," said the king, "And just where are you going?"

Tony gulped, "Uh, well, the little lady gave me the slip, but I hear her now, so I was just about to lead her back to the beginning, like you told me."

"I see," said King Loki. He took a few steps toward Tony and narrowed his eyes, "For one moment, it looked like you were running to help her. But no, not after my warnings. That would be stupid."

"You bet it would. Me? Help her? After your warnings?" Tony forced a laugh.

"Oh dear, Timmy," said Loki as he assessed the man before him.

"Tony," said Tony in a tiny voice, "I'm off to take the lady to the beginning of the labyrinth," said Tony as he took a step. He couldn't get away from this situation fast enough.

"Bruce?" they both heard Darcy call again.

"Wait!" said the king, and Tony stopped in his tracks for a second time, "I've got a much better plan, Tony."

The king had one of his glass crystals in his hands.

"Give her this," the king said, and he tossed the crystal to Tony. When Tony caught it, it had turned into a perfectly ripe peach. He examined it for a moment.

"W-what is it?" Tony asked.

Loki cocked his head to one side. "It's a present," he said simply.

Tony took in a deep breath. "Will it hurt her?" he asked.

"Now, why the concern?" the king asked. They both knew that it was a dare.

"I won't do anything to harm her."

"Oh come, come, Tiny, I'm surprised at you! Losing your head over a woman."

"I have not lost my head," said Tony.

"You don't actually think she could like a cowardly thing like you, do you?"

"Well, she said we were-"

"What? Bosom companions? Friends?" Loki said, his words dripped with mocking.

"It doesn't matter," Tony said.

"You'll give her that, Tony, or I'll tip you straight into the Fen of Questionable Content before you can blink," the king warned. Tony sighed and turned, heading toward Darcy's voice once again.

"Oh, and Tony, one more thing," said the king, "If she ever kisses you, I'll turn you into a prince."

"You will?" Tony asked. That was quite a suspicious offer.

"Prince of the land of Questionable Content!" Loki said, and he laughed cruelly.

Tony turned before Loki could get the satisfaction of seeing him any more upset than he already was.

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Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.

I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	6. Part 6

My goodness, sorry about the length of time between this chapter and the last. Life, unfortunately, has gotten in the way (as it often does.) But this story is close to being done, just a few chapters to go, I think. There shouldn't be nearly as much between this update and the last.

For weaverofhopes, who asked.

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"Bruce?"

The wind rustled the leaves in the trees and Darcy thought she could hear music in the distance. The forest was by far the spookiest part of the labyrinth yet, and she wished she had someone, anyone, around to just be with her. She continued to call out for Bruce and Tony as she made her way through the twisting pathways full of gnarled trees. She could catch snatches of the midday sun from above but they were of little comfort to her.

She hadn't gone very far at all when she realized that every noise but the sound of her own steps had died away. There were no birds in the trees, no leaves on the wind. No wind anymore for that matter. An eerie, pregnant calm washed over the forest, and it sent a renewed thrill of fear through her that caused goosebumps to rise on her flash and panic to bubble in her stomach.

Darcy heard slight rustling in a bush nearby and she was off like a rabbit. Her feet pounded the patches of hard-packed earth and varying bits of stone on the forest floor and she didn't even care to look for the shining golden castle any longer; all she knew was that she wanted to be _away_ from here as quickly as possible. She kept running until she came upon a high stone wall- there was no way she could climb it. Darcy's wild eyes darted around for something, anything that would help her get out of that forest, and her prayers were answered. She jumped, startled at the sound, when she heard her name suddenly called by a familiar voice.

"Darcy!"

"Tony? Is that you?"

"Catch!" she heard him say, and suddenly a rope ladder was thrown down the wall to her. She climbed out of those darkened trees faster than any rope challenge she had ever accomplished in gym class and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally collapsed atop the stone wall next to Tony.

"Thank god you found me. I had this overwhelming sense of panic and I just had to get the hell out of there," sighed Darcy as she sat up.

"It sounds like you just escaped a completely unnecessary musical number," said Tony.

"What?"

"Nothing," said Tony. He crossed his arms and looked down at her, the feeling of the peach in his pocket weighing down his soul and his mouth twisted into a grimace as he thought about what he must do. "We need to go," he said finally.

Darcy jumped up, happy to see the sunshine and a friend again.

"Tony! You've come to help me!" she said, and she wrapped her arms around him to give him a bear hug. Tony froze and it didn't go unnoticed, but she didn't care at all. She reached up on tip toes to peck his cheek and Tony recoiled.

"No! No, don't-"

As she landed a big kiss right on his cheek, they both felt the world fall out from underneath them in a very literal way- the floor on the high stone wall gave way and the pair tumbled down, down, down.

"No, no no nonononono!" Darcy heard Tony shout as they slid down the cold stone chute. They both clawed at whatever they could, their hands brushing over thin roots and twigs. Their fingers finally gained purchase on some precarious pieces of rebar that stuck out of the wall just before the chute ended. Darcy's arm cried out in a shock of pain as the force of her grip pulled her back to the wall, away from a fall that would have, at the very least, broken a bone or two.

Darcy's feet found some bricks jutting out of the stone wall and she stood, still gripping the rebar, and saw how long the drop down was. Below the stone wall was a small lake marsh of greenish-blackish ooze that churned and bubbled constantly. The view made her sick to her stomach-

-and then the smell hit her.

"My god," she said as her face scrunched in disgust, "What is it?"

"The Fen of Questionable Content," came Tony's voice. Darcy realized that he had grabbed hold of a stone slab that jutted out of the wall and was working his way down the stone wall to a patch of dirt below. Darcy was still frozen in horror at the stench that seemed to smother her. The ooze belched and heaved in an unnatural manner- although the fen had not the slightest breeze, the waves of muck in the fen moved and roiled. Darcy had to look away- if the smell didn't get her to toss her cookies, the fen itself would.

"I've never smelt anything like it," she said, "It's like… like…"

"It doesn't matter what it's like," said Tony, "It's the Fen of Questionable Content. Questionable. Meaning you're never going to peg it. We need to get down from here, sister. You need to move."

That jolted her. Darcy's hands and feet, almost of their own accord, began to look for new nooks and crannies in the face of the stone wall. Inch by inch she made her way to her left, getting closer and closer to the patch of dirt that Tony was near.

"What'd you do that for?" Tony asked. The fen belched and Darcy did her best to ignore it.

"Do what for? You mean rescue you?"

"What? No, you kissed me."

Darcy's face softened. "Don't pretend to be so hard. I know you came back to help me, and I know that you're my friend."

Darcy looked up at the sky rather than down at the revolting fen and found that it was actually easier to just pretend it wasn't there if she breathed through her mouth instead of her nose.

"I did not, and I am not your friend. I just came back to warn you that Loki-"

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Darcy screamed and fell. In that moment she had never wished so hard for a miracle in her life, and in that panicked second all she could do was shut her eyes tight and wait for the disgusting splash to come-

-which never did. Instead, Darcy landed hard on Bruce who was standing on the patch of dirt below her. Tony jumped down from the stone wall a second later, landing beside Darcy who was brushing the dirt off of herself.

"Bruce! Where did you come from?"

"Same place that you did, actually. You two seemed to be having quite the conversation; I didn't want to interrupt. You guys obviously didn't notice me," said Bruce as he eyed Tony up and down, "This place stinks."

"No kidding," said Tony. The lake-like marsh heaved and belched again, letting loose another wave of nauseating stench into the air. Tony's face paled at the fresh stench, "Oh god."

"There's a bridge," said Darcy, and she stood up, pointing to the east. Not thirty feet away was a rickety wooden bridge that would allow them to pass over the fen unharmed, "Come on."

The trio headed for the bridge together.

"Watch it," said Tony, "You step in this stuff and you'll stink forever."

Tony physically jumped back when a red, white, and blue-spangled man jumped out of a tree in front of them, blocking their path to the bridge.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, what is it now?" Darcy said to no one in particular.

"Halt, citizens," said the man. His blonde boy scout hair was gelled and perfectly in place. He had no weapon to speak of, only a round red-and-white striped shield with a silver star in the center.

"We have to get across," said Darcy. She tried to step around him and he blocked her.

"Without my go-ahead, no one may cross, ma'am," the man answered.

"I don't have any time for this," said Darcy and she put her hands on her hips, but she did not try to step past him again.

"We have to get out of this stench," said Tony.

"It's terrible," agreed Bruce.

"What stench?" asked the man. His eyes misted over with something akin to love. "It smells like- freedom."

"I've never smelled freedom like this… what's your name?" asked Darcy.

"Captain Rogers, ma'am. You can call me Steve," said Steve, "I live by my senses and this is what liberation smells like. The air holds the promise of a barbecue, fireworks, the chance to become whatever you want to be in a land of opportunity."

Darcy, Tony, and Bruce all exchanged looks. "I think he's serious," Tony finally said.

"Affirmative. And I have my orders- none my pass without my go-ahead," said Steve. His stance changed slightly and he shifted his feet until they were shoulder-width apart, making this huge man seem all the more intimidating.

"It reeks out here, sir, and we need to get across," said Bruce.

"Get out of my way," said Tony, and true anger flashed in his face. Bruce started to step forward and Steve stepped in front of him easily, towering over the scientist. While Steve was busy with that maneuver, Tony took the opportunity to slip past him and he ran across the derelict bridge.

"Tony! What the hell?" Darcy called, but Tony just kept running.

"Let go of my shield!" Steve said, and to Darcy's horror she turned around to find that Bruce's eyes were turning green, his skin showing streaks of emerald. He was attempting to wrench the shiny metal shield away from the soldier and was beginning to succeed.

"No! Steve, no!" Darcy said, "When he gets mad like this, he can't control himself; he'll kill the both of us!"

"Ma'am, I think I can conquer this mountain," said Steve with a pirate smile. With that he reared back and punched Bruce square in the jaw.

Bruce didn't like that.

In seconds the scientist was gone, replaced with the enormous Hulk Darcy had met earlier. The Hulk threw down the shield, no longer interested in it.

"Steve! Get back!" Darcy shouted, and she backed away slowly herself. Hulk closed the distance between himself and Captain Rogers, his massive green fist missing the captain by an inch thanks to the captain's quick movements. Hulk tried striking him a few more times, and eventually Steve jumped onto Hulk's back in an attempt to lock the monster in a choke hold. Hulk lurched forward, throwing Steve to the ground. Hulk reared up to punch Steve where he lay, but Steve rolled away from the Hulk's fist in time.

"Haha! You'll have to do better than that!" said Steve. Darcy watched with a mix of horror and an almost-amusement; the captain was nimble on his feet, but the right blow from the Hulk would put the star-spangled soldier out of commission for sure.

Steve got to his shield and picked it up, throwing it at the Hulk and landing a hit in his chest, which didn't faze him in the slightest. The Hulk lumbered over to Steve once again.

"Had enough, have you?" said Steve. The Hulk lunged for him, which Steve avoided with an easy side-step, but a quick kick from the Hulk got Steve right in the stomach, knocking him backwards.

"Enough!" said Steve. Of course Hulk didn't care what Steve had to say and kept advancing on him.

"Bruce!" called Darcy. The Hulk stopped and turned toward her - for a panicked second, Darcy thought that he would start to come after her, but the recognition in the monster's eyes appeared, just as they had the first time they met. A glimpse of humanity was found.

"Bruce, you need to chill out, OK? Steve's had enough," pleaded Darcy, hoping against hope that it would work.

"Never before have I met my match in battle," said Steve as he stood, dusting himself off, "Yet this man fought me to a standstill."

"Are you all right, Bruce?" Darcy asked. Hulk was confused, his brain attempting to reconcile the conflict of Hulk's rage with Bruce's need for peace. Bruce forced the Hulk to take a breath, and soon Hulk was shrinking back down to the size of a normal man once more.

"Well that's convenient," Darcy said, glad for the fact that this time Bruce wasn't nearly as naked as he was the last time they had met. His shirt didn't make it through the change, but his pants mysteriously stayed intact just enough to keep him covered. This is a PG scene, folks.

"My god, it still smells out here even when I'm the other guy," said Bruce.

"Mister Bruce, I, Captain Rogers, yield. Come, let's be comrades in arms from here on in, and fight the forces of evil as one," said Steve, holding out his hand for a hearty handshake. Bruce looked at him quizzically for only a moment before extending his own hand.

"Just Bruce is fine. Can't say I've ever had a comrade before."

"Sweet, let's go," said Darcy, and she started toward the bridge once more, but was shocked when Steve stepped in front of her again, blocking her path.

"You forget my orders, ma'am. I can't let you pass," said Steve.

Darcy paused, her brows knitting together in confusion. "But you said Bruce was your comrade, your match in battle," she said flatly.

Steve gave her a solemn nod. "I have to follow my orders."

Bruce looked like he was ready to pass out. "But the smell!"

Darcy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, thinking. "Let's handle this logically," she said, "What, exactly, are your orders?"

"My orders are that I defend this bridge from any harm, and that none, not one being may pass this bridge without my go-ahead," Steve replied, with one solid nod as though that sealed everything.

Darcy cocked her head to the side. "Well, then… can we have your go-ahead?"

Steve opened his mouth as if to speak, and shut it again. He was clearly going through some internal struggle, seeking out any loophole or accidental disobedience of his order that allowing his new friends to pass would cause. He found none.

"…yes?" Steve said, and Darcy broke out in a grin while Bruce gave a noise of delight.

"Thank you," Darcy said, and she strode past him, "Why don't you come along with us? That seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days."

Darcy approached the bridge and, upon closer inspection of it, she realized that it was more derelict than it had looked from 30 feet away. She hesitated.

"No need to fear, ma'am. This bridge has lasted for over a thousand years," said Steve, and with that assurance, Darcy began to cross the bridge with tentative steps. She got to the halfway mark when Steve rested a hand on one of the poles that held the ropes tight. The pole collapsed and the bridge began to crumble. Darcy let out a shriek and looked up, finding the branches of a deadening tree hanging low enough for her to take hold. She grabbed the branches just in time for the bridge to give way beneath her feet, splashing into the greenish smelly murk below.

Steve paled and looked down at where the pole had been in his hand. Bruce started pacing around, looking wild-eyed all over.

"Help!" Darcy screamed.

"Ma'am! We'll save you! Somehow…" Steve's voice trailed off. Tony came running from the right side of the fen, his eyes widening when he saw Darcy's situation.

"Tony! Help!"

Steve looked back at Bruce, who was still pacing like a madman. "Bruce! Are you just gonna pace around when she needs your help? We have to think of something!"

"I got it," Bruce said suddenly, looking at the tree that Darcy was holding onto. "Those roots look pretty dead, right? I bet you and I could push it over. Hey Darcy! I need you to try to climb up those branches! Can you get up to one of the more solid ones?"

Darcy glanced up, finding a sturdier branch to hold onto.

"I don't know if I can climb up into it completely!" she called.

"That's OK, you just have to have a heavy branch to hold onto. We're going to push this tree over. Tony, you catch her!" Bruce called, and he and Steve positioned themselves against the truck of the tree. Darcy climbed higher on the branch until she was able to grab onto a heavier tree limb, heaving herself up as high as she could and wrapping both her arms and her legas around the heavy limb. Tony positioned himself to where Darcy would be coming down when the tree fell.

"Ready?" Bruce called.

"Do it already!" Darcy shouted. The disgusting water gurgled beneath her.

"One, two, three!" Bruce shouted. Darcy held onto the heavy tree limb as tightly as she could and she felt the tree sway, then begin to fall. Her stomach lurched and all was a blur of branches and her own hair getting into her eyes as she fell.

As soon as it began it was over.

Tony was able to catch her without her hitting the ground, but she did get smacked in the arms by some rogue branches. Steve and Bruce cheered and crossed the fallen tree over the fen, making it to the other side with no problems while Tony set Darcy down.

"Tony, I'm too happy to see you to be mad right now, but don't do that again," said Darcy, "Let's get out of here."

Steve, Bruce, and Darcy began to leave, none of them noticing that Tony wasn't right behind them. Tony slipped the peach out of the pouch on his side and looked warily into the Fen of Questionable Content, looking from right to left to make sure he was alone. Just as he was about to toss the peach into the fen, he heard a Loki's voice.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

When Tony whirled around, no one was there.

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